For the outdoor enthusiast, hammocks have been developed to provide a more comfortable and drier sleeping shelter than tents. Hammocks are also advantageous in uneven terrain and areas inhabited by ground dwelling animals. There are typically two conventional hammock constructions:                The first method requires that the longitudinal ends of the hammock be laterally bunched and then suspended at each end by a load-bearing member—typically a rope or web strap—where one end of the member is connected to the hammock body itself and the opposite ends are connected to two spaced trees or similar upright load-bearing supports.        The second method utilizes horizontal, rigid spreader members (known as ‘spreader bars’ in the art) affixed to the hammock body ends with merging support straps extending from the spreader members, which converge to a single point of suspension. At this point they are coupled to a load-bearing support strap—typically a rope or web strap—through which the suspension forces of the hammock pass. These members are then attached to two spaced trees or similar upright load-bearing supports.        
Both of these methods of hammock suspension create a laterally unstable condition along the single axis of the support member, particularly while entering and exiting the construction. This can cause dangerous lateral rolling and pitching around the single support strap. Other designers have attempted to create hammock stability by directing the strap around the tree, creating two longitudinal support axes at both ends, as opposed to the conventional single support axis. A typical example of this method is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,763 of Crazy Creek Products; however, this design does not utilize such a spreader member. Crazy Creek Products opts to omit the spreader member to reduce overall hammock weight, which causes the hammock ends to bunch laterally; thus, creating a cocooning, squeezing effect around the occupant. This squeezing can lead to what is known in the art as “shoulder pinch”, which can cause discomfort when resting for an extended period. An additional drawback to this design is that the farther away the hammock ends are placed from the trees the more unstable the construction becomes laterally. Without the spreader members, the stability of the hammock becomes dependent on distance from the upright anchor source. The suspension forces become increasingly longitudinally diagonal the farther the hammock ends are moved from the tree. This creates a condition in which the hammock becomes laterally unstable about the longitudinal axis as seen in conventional, single-axis hammock suspensions. Additionally, both conventional methods of hammock suspensions create a sleeping platform which sags, leading to an uncomfortable curve to the occupant's back due to the resulting concave shape of the hammock sleeping platform as viewed from above. This concave shape also restricts the occupant to sleeping only on his/her back. Other hammock designers have attempted to alleviate the uncomfortable sag by creating a flatter sleeping platform. A typical example of this is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,757 of Hennessy; however, Hennessy utilizes a non-equilateral polygon requiring the individual to lie diagonally across the suspension axis. This creates a somewhat precarious sleeping configuration.
In addition to the unstable condition associated with conventional hammock suspension methods, the user is required to possess knowledge of advanced knot-tying in order to properly and safely secure the hammock; this is beyond the skill scope of the average user. An additional drawback of conventional hammocks is the lack of storage space for personal effects. A tent allows the occupant to place personal items inside the tent where they remain safe from the elements. Traditional hammocks require the user to either place all personal effects loosely in the hammock—which can make sleeping uncomfortable and items difficult to locate—or leave them outside of the hammock, both unprotected and out of reach.
Lastly, the method used to attach a hammock utilizing only one pass around the tree can damage the tree surface due to rubbing at the point from which the hammock is suspended. This sort of tree damage can lead to disease, which is environmentally irresponsible. Other hammock designs have attempted to achieve an environmentally sound method of hammock suspension as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,763 of Crazy Creek Products; however, the support strap has only one point of connection, allowing only a single 180 degree of travel around the tree which does not anchor the support line to the tree and can still allow rubbing to occur.